Government urged to find solution to E-waste

The Director of the Chemicals Control and Management Centre of the Environmental Protection Agency, John Pwamang has called on government and regulatory agencies to join forces to effectively find a lasting solution to the problem of electronic waste in the country.

He said the problem needs to be tackled at both national and international levels. Mr. Pwamang was speaking at the start of the E-Waste Africa Project organized by EPA and the Secretariat of the Basel Convention in Accra.

He announced that the EPA has initiated a project to take inventory of e-waste nationwide and help formulate policies to regulate such waste. A representative from the Swiss Embassy, Martin Saladin said apart from the negative impact of e-waste, there are positive sides such as the recovery of metal and other valuable materials which are very expensive and can add value to the re-cycling sector.

The Director of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Africa, Professor Osibanjo asked Africans to team up with developed countries to curb the growing situations rather than blame them for the importation of electronic waste into the continent.